Many different industries use sheet material, such as aluminum, steel or plastics including acrylic and polycarbonate, to produce end products. Operations such as stamping, routing and forming are employed to process the sheet material into the desired end product. The industrial sign production industry uses high volumes of sheet material to produce large scale signs and letters. Sheet material is available from suppliers in two forms: roll stock and pre-cut sheets. Roll stock is considerably less expensive than pre-cut sheets, however, additional labour is required at the manufacturing facility to cut the roll stock into individual sheets prior to processing.
Currently, multiple rolls of roll stock material are stored at the manufacturing facility on a series of racks. A forklift is required at the time of delivery to lift each roll onto the rack. Once the roll stock is on the rack, the material is dispensed by manually unrolling a desired amount and cutting it from the roll. The cut sheet is then carried to a workstation where it will be formed, routed or stamped, for example. The dispensing and moving process is labour intensive and typically requires the assistance of three or four workers. In addition, material is wasted because excess material from a cut sheet cannot be re-attached to the roll for later use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for dispensing roll stock material, which obviates or mitigates at least one of the above disadvantages.